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Lebanon Plumbers, home

Water Heaters

Tankless Water Heater Installation and Service

Tankless suits some houses very well and others badly. The deciding factors are gas capacity, venting and how you actually use hot water.

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What is included

What this service covers

What we actually do on this job, and what you can expect us to deal with while we are there.

  • Assessing whether a property can support a tankless unit
  • New tankless installation and tank to tankless conversion
  • Gas line sizing and upgrades where required
  • Dedicated venting to manufacturer specification
  • Annual descaling and flush service
  • Ignition, flow sensor and error code diagnosis
  • Isolation valve kits so future servicing is straightforward

Signs to look for

You may need this if you are seeing any of these

  • Running out of hot water with back to back showers
  • Wanting the floor space a tank occupies
  • A tank at the end of its life and considering the alternative
  • Cold water sandwich, a burst of cold mid shower on an existing tankless
  • An existing tankless throwing error codes or dropping out under load
  • Reduced flow from a tankless that has never been descaled

Why it happens

What usually causes it

01

Scale in the heat exchanger

The single biggest issue with tankless in this county. Limestone groundwater deposits mineral inside the narrow passages of the exchanger, which reduces output and eventually triggers faults. Manufacturers' generic service intervals assume softer water than we have here.

02

Undersized gas supply

A tankless unit draws far more gas at peak than a tank does. A line sized for a tank, a furnace and a range often cannot support one without an upgrade, and ignoring this produces a unit that underperforms and faults.

03

Wrong sizing for simultaneous demand

Tankless is rated in flow at a given temperature rise. Pennsylvania groundwater is cold in winter, so the rise required is larger and the achievable flow lower. A unit sized on summer assumptions disappoints in January.

04

Venting not to specification

These units need their own correctly specified venting. Reusing an old flue is not acceptable and is a genuine safety issue on a gas appliance.

Our approach

How we handle this job

Specific to this work rather than a generic checklist bolted onto every page.

  1. 01

    Check whether the property suits it

    Gas meter and line capacity, venting route, electrical supply, water hardness and how the household actually uses hot water. If the answer is that a tank serves you better, we will say so before you spend anything.

  2. 02

    Size on winter, not summer

    We size for the temperature rise needed in the coldest part of the year and for the fixtures you genuinely run at the same time, rather than to a headline flow figure.

  3. 03

    Install properly

    Correct gas sizing, manufacturer-specified venting, condensate handling where applicable, and isolation valves fitted so descaling is a routine job rather than a strip down.

  4. 04

    Set up the service routine

    We flush and descale at commissioning and tell you the realistic interval for this water, which is usually more frequent than the manual suggests.

The honest assessment first

Tankless is genuinely better for some households and a poor investment for others, and the difference is not subtle. We would rather work that out before you commit than install something that disappoints you.

The things that decide it are practical: whether your gas meter and line can deliver peak demand, whether a compliant vent route exists, how cold your incoming water gets, and whether you actually run multiple hot water draws at the same time.

A tankless water heater being installed on a utility room wall

Hard water is the catch nobody mentions

The county’s limestone groundwater is the single biggest factor in how a tankless unit performs here over time. Mineral deposits inside the narrow passages of the heat exchanger, reducing output and eventually causing faults.

Manufacturer service intervals are written for average water. Ours is harder than average, so descaling needs to happen more often than the manual implies. We fit isolation valves as standard specifically so that job stays simple, because a unit that is awkward to service is one that never gets serviced.

If your house is on a well with high hardness, treating the water is worth considering alongside the heater rather than afterwards. That is covered on the well and water treatment page.

A wall-hung condensing boiler opened for service beside a copper and PEX manifold

Sizing for a Pennsylvania winter

The number on the box assumes a modest temperature rise. In January, incoming groundwater here is cold, the rise required is large, and the flow the unit can actually deliver at your target temperature drops.

Sizing on that basis rather than on the headline figure is the difference between a unit that satisfies the household and one that causes an argument every winter morning.

Questions

Tankless water heaters questions

Specific to this job. Every service page here has its own, none repeated.

General FAQ

Common questions

Is a tankless water heater worth it in Lebanon County?
It depends on the household more than the technology. Tankless saves standby energy, frees the floor space and does not run out during long demand. Against that: it costs more to install, often needs a gas line or venting upgrade, and needs regular descaling that matters more here because of the hard water. If you routinely run out of hot water or want the basement space back, it is a good fit. For a straightforward like for like replacement on a budget, a tank is usually the sensible choice.
Will a tankless unit really give me endless hot water?
Continuous, yes. Unlimited at any flow rate, no. A tankless heats water as it passes through, so it will run indefinitely, but only up to its rated flow at the temperature rise you need. In a Pennsylvania winter the incoming water is genuinely cold, the required rise is large, and the achievable flow drops accordingly. Two showers and a dishwasher at once in January is where an undersized unit disappoints people.
What is the cold water sandwich?
A short burst of cold water partway through a shower, usually noticed shortly after someone else has just used hot water. It happens because the unit shuts down when flow stops, leaving warm water sitting in the pipe, and there is a brief gap before it fires again for the next draw. Some units and recirculation setups reduce it considerably. It is a characteristic of the technology rather than a fault, and it is worth knowing about before you buy.
How often does a tankless heater need descaling?
More often here than the manual assumes, because manufacturer intervals are written for average water and this county's limestone groundwater is not average. Annually is a reasonable starting point for a house on hard public water, and more frequently on an untreated well with high hardness. If your unit has fitted isolation valves it is a straightforward service. If it does not, we will add them, because a unit that is awkward to descale is a unit that never gets descaled.
Do I need to upgrade my gas line?
Frequently, yes, and it is the most commonly missed cost in a tankless quote. These units draw substantially more gas at peak than a tank, and a line sized years ago for a tank, a furnace and a range often cannot deliver it. We check meter and line capacity as part of the assessment rather than discovering it on installation day. If an upgrade is needed you will see it in the quote up front.
Can I put a tankless unit where my tank is now?
Usually the unit itself fits easily, since it is wall mounted and much smaller. The constraints are venting and gas rather than space. Tankless units need their own correctly specified vent run to the outside, and an existing flue cannot simply be reused. Whether a suitable vent route exists from that location is one of the first things we check.
How long do tankless water heaters last?
Longer than tanks when maintained, which is a genuine part of the value case, though that depends heavily on descaling actually happening. A neglected unit in hard water can foul badly enough to need major work well before its expected life. The maintenance is not optional here in the way it might be somewhere with softer water.

Related services

Where we cover for this

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